


Polished Compliments

by SpiritWorld



Series: Sir Leon's Guide to Wooing Oblivious Servants [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Gen, M/M, Modern Era, Pre-Slash, They both are disasters honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25804075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritWorld/pseuds/SpiritWorld
Summary: George has his nightly armour polishing routine interrupted by Sir Leon who... really likes the way he polishes gauntlets? He hasn't quite figured it out either.
Relationships: George & Leon (Merlin), George/Leon (Merlin)
Series: Sir Leon's Guide to Wooing Oblivious Servants [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1872112
Comments: 28
Kudos: 39





	Polished Compliments

**Author's Note:**

> Ship Geon 2020. George is 170cm and Leon is 191cm and they're both awkward and nerds. Thank you for coming to my ted talk. This isn't crack surprisingly.

"Have you been here all this time?" George startled at the sudden intrusion, almost dropping the brown rag he had been gripping tightly for nearly an hour. The servant turned to identify who had walked in to the armoury this late in the evening. The gaurds patrolling at this time of night never spoke to him. They simply came to take what they needed and left without a word. In the doorway was stood none other than Sir Leon, who had had a knack for appearing around him at the strangest of times as of late it seemed.

"Yes. Sir Gwaine said he no longer needed my assistance tonight so I've come to do some polishing," George replied politely, his hands automatically resuming the task of polishing the armour he had set on the table a few moments before the knight's arrival. Leon smiled at him, open and honest unlike the cold and strained smiles of many nobles he dealt with on a daily basis. He found it difficult to place how it made him feel. Not odd? Not uncomfortable? Something to be pondered on more later perhaps.

"George." The servant ignored the odd fluter of warmth that ran through him at the fond use of his name. He was still getting used to Camelot's most loyal knights actually knowing who he was for some peculiar reason. "Do you never take time to do things for yourself? You know, to relax?"

"Polishing armor is relaxing, Sir Leon," he said without lifting his gaze from the task at hand. Gauntlets were always the trickiest to polish. He'd never get them done if he allowed his mind to drift now.

"Ah, of course." Coming from anyone else, George may have taken the comment as an insult or a dismissal of sorts. He knew others found him to be unconventional at the best of times. Leon, however, was different. The knight walked towards the workbench, peering over the servant's shoulder to take a look at what he had accomplished so far. George could feel his muscles tense at the sudden proximity, cloth rubbing harder on the metal than he'd meant to. Leon cleared his throat.

"It's... done well."

"The polishing?" George asked befuddled, eyes still trained on the half polished gauntlet. Had a knight just complimented his polishing of all things? It was turning out to be an odd night indeed.

"Ah, yes."

"Right. Thank you." This was... Well, he wasn't quite sure what this was. A heavy silence stretched between the two, the light squeaking of the rag against the armour barely being enough to break it. George refused to look at him. Leon coughed.

"I'd best be on my way then," Leon finally said, taking a step back from where he was stood behind George.

"Good night, Sir Leon," George replied, ignoring how strange the distance between them suddenly felt. Had he not been unsettled by how close the man was seconds before?

"I've told you before, just Leon is sufficient." He could hear the amusement in his tone, finally turning around again to face the knight to give his reply.

"Must I recite chapter one of the handbook to you again, Sir Leon?" The servant questioned, the smallest of smiles forming at the edge of his lips. He knew the knight knew of course. George had had to recite the rule about servants addressing nobility at least a dozen times in his time spent assisting the knights. It alluded him why they pushed for such a lack of formality. Not every servant could or _should_ for that matter behave like Merlin.

"No, it's quite alright. I will see you at training tomorrow, correct? You're still assisting Gwaine this week?" Leon asked, having now made his way back to the entrance of the armoury.

"Unfortunately." He really did drop the rag this time upon realizing the words had escaped his lips without his brain's prior approval. Through his spiraling thoughts concerning his impending unemployment after such a comment, he could make out the distinct sound of laughter coming from the entryway. Leon stood doubled over as the laughter escaped him strong and brazen, clutching the door frame with one hand for support. George thought idly to himself that this was the first time in days he'd seen the knight so joyful. Preparing reports for round table meetings usually left him worn out he had ~~observed~~ heard.

"Good night, George. Until morning," the knight finally responded after catching his breath.

"Until morning," he responded dumbstruck, realizing too late the man had already left. Perhaps he'd get to keep his job then, he supposed. Turning back to the nearly finished gauntlet, the servant attempted to rid himself of the thoughts that had now taken root in his mind. He'd review the events of the day later, he told himself, after his work was finished.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt fill for @magicalweirdism on Tumblr who requested a fic about Leon complimenting George on his polishing. You can find me on Tumblr @Meteorjam. Thanks for reading!


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